11,100 Jobs Lost as Healey Continues to Pile on New Mandates

According to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD), Massachusetts employers cut 11,100 jobs in September, the largest single-month loss since the pandemic. The state also reported 1,200 fewer residents employed and a 2,700-person drop in the labor force, meaning the unemployment rate fell only because people stopped looking for work.

“These are the state’s own numbers and they paint a picture of an economy heading in the wrong direction. The largest job loss since the pandemic didn’t happen in a vacuum, something especially apparent as other states see economic gains. State officials are pig-headedly ignoring the warning signs and actively pursuing policies that accelerate the loss of people, wealth, and now jobs. It’s clear their policies recreating ‘Taxachusetts’ are driving people, wealth, and jobs out of the state,” said Paul Diego Craney, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance.

While the administration highlighted small gains in a few sectors, the overwhelming statewide trend was negative. The labor force participation rate also declined, reflecting the growing number of residents discouraged from seeking work in an increasingly hostile economic climate.

“This is happening at the exact same time the Healey administration and others are digging in their heels on overly cumbersome and costly policy mandates like large-building energy reporting that will lead to a new building carbon tax, a local-options tax that will drive up the vehicle excise tax, a potential government imposed rent control ballot question that will freeze development, enforcing a new costly building-heat standard that equates to a carbon tax on fuels on January 1, and continuing to pursue the ban on new gas and diesel trucks that many industries rely on. These and other mandates raise costs for employers and virtually every kind of taxpayer. No competitive state is doing anything close to this,” said Craney.

“Our economic warning lights are flashing and Beacon Hill refuses to take its foot off the accelerator. Employers are cutting jobs. Families are leaving the workforce. Energy, housing, and transportation costs are about to climb even higher due to policy mandates. The people in charge are making Massachusetts uncompetitive by design and taxpayers are the ones paying the price,” noted Craney.

MassFiscal urged state leaders to wake up. These are serious warning signs that will only get worse if drastic action is not taken. The Governor and legislative leaders need to reverse the Net Zero by 2050 mandate and cut broad-based taxes to reverse its ‘Taxachusetts’ reputation.

“Massachusetts cannot afford to ignore these very serious warning signs. Businesses are cutting jobs because they believe they cannot grow here. MassFiscal will continue to shine a light on the consequences of these mandates and policies and press for broad-based tax cuts that put taxpayers and working families ahead of ideology,” closed Craney.